Free Web NovelChapter 249: Elizabeth’s Suspicions
"So, what do you think?" Elizabeth asked, staring out into the Manor’s yard where a certain young boy was being escorted around by the Carlson Family’s Head Steward.
"About this situation, or about that boy," Mathias asked back, also carefully observing Lucas.
"Both," the Supreme Elder replied.
Turning back to his office, Mathias Carlson took a moment to gather his thoughts before stating, "The situation is worrying, but doesn’t seem to be that serious yet. The evacuation they proposed seems excessively cautious, but they must have some reason for going so far, yes?"
"En," Elizabeth nodded, turning her eyes to her grandson as she commented, "They claim that 8 days ago, a Mid Seventh Order Beast appeared in the Baker Family’s territory."
"Tss..." His fists unconsciously clenching, Mathias gasped as he stared incredulously at his grandmother, "Is that why you agreed so readily to cooperate with them?"
It all made sense to the Count now; the presence of such a powerful beast was more than enough to warrant a full-scale evacuation.
Surprisingly, though, his grandmother shook her head, "No. That beast is already dead. It’s the possibility that another such creature might appear that worries me."
"D-Dead? But... How?" The Count, who was used to dealing with danger and crises, shivered unconsciously when he heard this shocking news.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that no one in the Rockwell Kingdom was capable of killing a Mid-Rank Seventh Order Beast. Only if every Spirit Adept across the kingdom joined forces might such a feat be possible; and even then, there was no guarantee of victory.
"They didn’t say, and I didn’t ask," Elizabeth Carlson said flatly, before a slight glint flashed across the depth of her eyes, "But something tells me they know."
Taking a deep breath to try to calm his pounding heart, Mathias turned to his grandmother and humbly asked, "Why do you think so, Supreme Elder?"
Glancing over at Mathias, Elizabeth couldn’t help remembering the days when he was still just a boy she had held in her arms.
Both of Mathias’ parents had tragically perished in the last great war against the Darr Kingdom, leaving him and his 5 siblings as orphans.
Elizabeth had also fought in that war, but perhaps due to her greater strength, or her role as an archer, she had survived relatively unharmed; however, 1 of her sons, and 2 of her daughters had fallen in battle, along with their spouses. It was a tragic loss to the Carlson Family, but no more so than any other noble house at the time.
Her expression softening ever so slightly, Elizabeth reached out and tussled her grandson’s hair, "When it’s just us, you can call me Grandma like you used to."
Blushing slightly, Mathias let out an awkward cough, "I’m a grown man and a Count now, there’s no need to baby me anymore... Grandmother."
"Hahaha, you’ll always be a little boy in my eyes," Elizabeth laughed light-heartedly, withdrawing her hand before getting back on topic, "As for why I believe they’re hiding something, it’s simple really. They’re too calm."
"You think they’re lying about the threat, then?" Mathias narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Certainly not," Elizabeth immediately denied, "They showed me the Beast Core from that monster, and I confirmed with my own eyes that it was freshly extracted. The residual Life Aura coming from it was still quite strong, so there’s no question about the existence of a Seventh Order Beast, or its demise."
Walking over to the office’s south-west facing windows, Elizabeth stared off into the distance and declared with absolutely certainty, "The threat is real, and the evacuation they proposed is necessary, that much I’m sure of. I know Celestina Balfour; there’s no way she would joke about something so serious."
Frowning deeply in thought, Elizabeth continued to muse, "What I don’t understand is how such powerful beasts suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The Great Western Forest is indeed vast and mysterious, but there’s no way we wouldn’t know about a Seventh Order Beast living in such close proximity to our kingdom."
Flashing a cunning smile, the Supreme Elder followed up, "Regarding that point, that strange little boy seems to know more than he is letting on."
"Young Master Lucas?" Mathias tilted his head slightly before nodding, "He’s indeed a little strange. I’ve never seen such an enigma before. He’s far to mature, well spoken, and intelligent for a child his age. If not for his appearance and low cultivation, I would have suspected he was some old monster in disguise."
"Indeed," Elizabeth completely agreed, "However, it’s more than just that."
"When we were talking earlier, I tried probing that boy several times about the situation in the south, and while he answered all of my questions in great detail, he never mentioned anything related to what might have caused all of this chaos in the first place. He always stuck to the facts, nothing more." freewebnøvel.com
"Couldn’t it be he just doesn’t know?" Mathias wondered aloud.
"I thought so too, at first," the wise old woman snickered, "but the way in which he avoided talking about such things was suspicious. He never said he didn’t know anything about it, he simply redirected the conversation away from such topics, like he was purposefully side-stepping or obfuscating the truth."
"So, he was being deceptive?" The Count assumed.
Knitting her brow, Elizabeth thought about it for a moment before shaking her head, "I don’t think so. He never lied, as far as I can tell. He simply omitted certain things he didn’t want to expose."
"I even suspect he knows exactly how that Seventh Order Beast was killed, and who or what was responsible."
"If that’s true, then, why would he bother trying to hide it?" This time, Mathias really couldn’t understand.
A Seventh Order Beast was already more than what the Rockwell Kingdom could handle, so there didn’t seem to be a reason not to expose the existence of an even more powerful creature as nothing about the situation would change in the Count’s opinion.
Tapping her finger on the windowsill, Elizabeth Carlson went over her lunch discussion with both Lucas and Allina, meticulously dissecting their words and actions at the time, eventually drawing a simple conclusion, "It’s probably true. I’m almost certain that Lucas knows what happened to that Seventh Order Beast."
"That boy admitted to being there when it happened, but his description of the events is both too vivid, and too clean, like a story composed of just enough facts to cloud the deeper truth."
"As for that lass from the Crest Family, whether she knows something and is cooperating to hide it, or that information was also withheld from her, I can’t say for certain."
"Wait wait wait," Mathias rushed over to the window and asked impatiently, "What do you mean that boy admitted to being there when it happened? You’re telling me he came face-to-face with that Seventh Order Beast, and even saw how it was killed?"
"That’s right," Elizabeth was also still shocked by this fact, "He said he and several others were trying to escape aboard Marquess Balfour’s Skyship, and almost failed, only for them to be suddenly blinded by a flash of light, after which the Seventh Order Beast had mysteriously died."
"Amazing..." Mathias was thoroughly impressed now. Even if Lucas didn’t technically do anything, the mere fact that he had seen a Seventh Order Beast, was attacked by it, and lived to tell the tale was a feat worthy of bragging about.
"I’m not sure whether to call him lucky, or unlucky," Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, really meaning what she said.
It was incredibly lucky for a Body Tempering Realm boy to survive an encounter with a Seventh Order Beast, but it was also incredibly unlucky to have met such a creature in the first place.
Shaking off his sense of awe, Mathias frowned again as he muttered, "That still doesn’t explain why he would lie about how things played out."
In Count Carlson’s opinion, even if Lucas wasn’t the type to brag, it was still unreasonable for the boy to not share important details about who or what had saved him from the Seventh Order Beast. After all, such information would help to guide their decision making when it came to planning and executing the upcoming evacuation.
"I can only think of one possibility; telling us would somehow be more dangerous than keeping us in the dark," the Supreme Elder said solemnly.
"How so?" Mathias wondered aloud.
"Perhaps..." Elizabeth hesitated, feeling unsure of her own conclusions, "Perhaps whatever saved them that night ordered Lucas not to reveal its identity."
Only an entity on par with, or stronger than a Mid-Rank Eighth Order Beast or Mid-Rank Spirit Master could kill a Seventh Order Beast in a single strike, and given the current situation, it was far more likely that some other Beast had been responsible.
However, in order to then convey a warning not to expose its identity, it could not have been an ordinary Wild Beast; it would have to have been a Spirit Beast.
Thinking about such a possibility, Mathias again felt a deep sense of dread in the depths of his soul. Just because such a powerful beast had saved some humans once, didn’t mean it wouldn’t wipe out other humans on a sudden whim.
Grandmother was right, the evacuation is necessary, and we need to do everything we can to assist with it, Count Carlson concluded, his expression hardening as he turned to leave his office. He needed to summon the family’s Elder Council as well as the relevant administrators from the city.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Carlson continued gazing towards the south-west, a multitude of thoughts flashing across her mind. The old Supreme Elder had thought she would spend the last years of her life in peaceful reflection, enjoying herself while relaxing with the youngest children of her family; but now, that no longer seemed possible.
Life was about to get hectic again, filled with thrills, adventure, and danger.
Whether that brought Elizabeth a sense of dread, or a sense of excitement, only she knew, and if the stoic expression she was wearing right now was any indication, she wasn’t planning on telling anyone either.
